What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
The ego has landed
Please can you help with this dilemma? I used to drive an X5 (57 plate, 7-seater), which my husband now drives and I have a 56 plate manual MINI Cooper S. The MINI has been good fun to drive but with two children (aged 8 and 4) and the bits and pieces that go with them (bikes, scooters, friends, car seats) I'm starting to realise that the MINI was not a practical choice. Do I continue to badger my husband every time I need to swap cars if I want to take friends out (as much as he appreciates the MINI is quick, he doesn't like driving it as it’s too small and probably not good for his street cred) and pay the £600 plus for the MINI bike rack? Or do I accept that I've had my 6 months of fun with the MINI and now swap it for something more sensible and practical for my family’s needs? A friend has the Renault Grand Scenic and I was very impressed with the floor compartments for toys and books. It looks like we are about to bite the bullet and have school fees to pay, so any car exchange needs to be as low cost as possible. Your thoughts and recommendations, as ever, gratefully appreciated.
Asked on 3 October 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
Stupid and selfish of him not to let you use the X5 for the purpose it's
best suited for while he uses it for a purpose it's least suited for
(unless he wants to use it to intimidate other motorists). But if you can't resolve that between you, then a new Renault Scenic 1.4TSI is a good bet (small, chain cam petrol turbo engine, works very well). Or a Citroen C3 Picasso. Too expensive, maybe a used S Max if you can find one for the money. 2.0 petrol models are likely to be cheapest. Or a Mondeo estate. Most accommodating of the lot, surprisingly nice to drive and probably exchangeable for a 56 reg Cooper S is a current model Citroen Berlingo Multispace. Or a Citroen Xsara Picasso.
best suited for while he uses it for a purpose it's least suited for
(unless he wants to use it to intimidate other motorists). But if you can't resolve that between you, then a new Renault Scenic 1.4TSI is a good bet (small, chain cam petrol turbo engine, works very well). Or a Citroen C3 Picasso. Too expensive, maybe a used S Max if you can find one for the money. 2.0 petrol models are likely to be cheapest. Or a Mondeo estate. Most accommodating of the lot, surprisingly nice to drive and probably exchangeable for a 56 reg Cooper S is a current model Citroen Berlingo Multispace. Or a Citroen Xsara Picasso.
Similar questions
Can I retro-fit a reversing camera to my Vauxhall Mokka?
Yesterday morning I decided to order from an online company called Model Car World a die-cast scale model of the Jaguar S-type I own. To my surprise and delight it arrived on my doorstep early this morning,...
Dear John,
Thank for a great site, I purchased my first vehicle back in March of last year; a Tucson 2005. I was lucky that I did not have any problems with the vehicle, the price was right; as we were...
.jpg)
